Midtown Lunch

So Kyochon finally opened their doors for dinner last night, and they will be open again tonight… but they still aren’t open for lunch and don’t expect to be until Friday (their supposedly official “Grand Opening Day”.)  Of course the way things have been going this week, they could surprise everybody by opening tomorrow for lunch or it might be 3 weeks from now!  Either way, they said you might want to call first on Friday just to be safe.  But the fact that they’re open for dinner is a good sign.  In related news, Eater just reported that Bon Chon will be opening another Midtown location on the very same block, in the old Caprese Cafe space.  (I guess they’re not content having a location just a few blocks away.) Could this get any crazier?!?

Apparently it’s a burger truck kind of day on Midtown Lunch. Zach still hasn’t been able to track down a decent plate of street meat in L.A., but today he wrote about two burger trucks that look way better than La Cense and Carnegie John’s. And we’re not just saying that because one of the burgers was topped with sausage gravy, bacon and maple syrup!? (Ok, maybe that’s exactly why we’re saying it.) I wonder if we can get Schnitzel and Things to top their deep fried burger with bacon and maple syrup? I think that would make things right…

Photo courtesy of Ambitious Delish

Unsurprisingly, the Frites N Meats Truck’s first day in Midtown (on 52nd btw. 6+7th) has been an eventful one! According to Lunch’er MattZ, the line was 30 people long by 12:30 and they stopped taking orders at 1:30pm. But the real kick in the balls came at the end of service… according to Esther from Ambitious Delicious the cops hassled the truck for parking in a metered spot and forced them to leave. Thankfully they let them serve out the rest of the customers who had already ordered, but other sources say the cop told the truck if they parked on that street again they’d be towed.

Between that and the mixed reviews in the comments we’re not sure what this will mean for future visits to Midtown (after all the La Cense burger truck started off strong before petering out and disappearing.)

Forgetting about the comparisons with the Carnegie John’s burger for now, Lunch’er Adam Prato seemed to like it. His report is after the jump…

Read more »

Yushi (on 47th btw. Park+Lex) has become known for their near manic proclivity at adding new items to their menu. Last week they introduced their new Sake Ramen and as the official ML Happy Hour Correspondent I thought it was fitting that I try this boozy broth. After all, I’ve had a fair amount of sake in my day and if you count all the ramen I ate in college then the same can be said for the latter. However, I don’t think I’ve ever added sake to my ramen, at least not on purpose. I wasn’t sure how this combination would sit with me. I figured it might be great or it could be bad. A kin to pouring beer on your chicken noodle, but enough talk, time for soup!

Read more »

It’s springtime! OK, not yet. But it feels…like springtime! And if 50 degrees isn’t enough to get you crawling out into the sunlight, then maybe the freshest outdoor lunch options in Midtown East will. Every Wednesday year-round, local farmers fill Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on 47th & 2nd with everything from fruit to focaccia. You can also stop by for chicken empanadas, chocolate whoopee pies, and strawberry apple cider all on the same block. The best part? You can get all of the above for under $10.

A just out of bounds spinach and mozz quiche the size of your face after the jump…

Read more »

I embrace breakfast for lunch (or snack for that matter) and I also embrace cheap. Earlier this year, Jamba Juice introduced $1 oatmeal Wednesdays. The promotion was supposed to only last through early February, but as of last week they were still doing discounted oatmeal, but now the going rate is $2. Is it still worth it?

Read more »